


i can't get you off of my mind, no matter how hard i try

by flamboyantlarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Pool Boy AU, a little bit of smut, larry stylinson - Freeform, pool boy fic, this took me forever to write appreciate pls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 03:52:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5651509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamboyantlarry/pseuds/flamboyantlarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Styles needs a summer job, and maybe working as someone's pool-boy will help him save up enough for when he sets sail for university in the fall.<br/>Louis and Eleanor Tomlinson, a wealthy, wedded couple who just so happen needs their pool cleaned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i can't get you off of my mind, no matter how hard i try

**[ au where louis is a millionaire and harry is his pool boy ]**

    “Thank you for this job, Mrs. Tomlinson. I really appreciate it." Harry smiled at the women, who nodded with a small aimless wave of the hand. "Oh it's no big deal, love. You needed a summer job and pool cleaning is a good choice for this season."

    "Indeed." Harry chuckled, pulling out his phone when feeling it vibrate. "I have to head home, mum says dinner's about done." Yes, he was a twenty year old still living with his mother. But with the money soon to be made from this pool cleaning job he'd eventually be on his feet and off to college. He already had a scholarship to one of the best universities in London, but he wanted to save for textbooks and campus housing, as well.

    "Okay, that's quite alright. You can start this weekend since Louis and I will be going out for our wedding anniversary." She smiled at the thought of the date with her husband, Louis Tomlinson. "Four years — can't believe it."

    Harry cooed at the woman who's heart was fluttering. She was quite excited for the date, it being planned months ahead of time, shortly after the turn of the new year. It felt like just yesterday they met at a small get together with a group of friends. "Sounds like a lucky guy."

    The twenty year old smiled and clapped his hands together once as the lady blushed, standing up from the lounge chair on the backyard patio by the poolside. "Well, I better get going. Key's under the front doormat, right?"

    Eleanor stood as well, nodding her head in reply. "Correct. It was lovely meeting you, Harry." The two shook hands, before Harry said another farewell see you later, heading through to the front of the large home.

    The Tomlinson's were quite wealthy, Louis having a job in business with car sales (he was actually the owner of the business) and Eleanor working at a bank as an accountant. All in all, the couple did pretty well when it came to wealth. But they surely weren't one of the couples who rubbed it in other's faces with how much money they made annually.

    Just as Harry was about to reach for the doorknob, the door itself was pushed inwards, causing Harry to get smacked right in the nose with the door. He groaned, his hand moving to cover over his face and stepping back.

    Louis' eyes widened, automatically assuming it was Eleanor on the other side of the door. He slowly peeked around the door, confusion showing on his features when seeing that it wasn't his wife, but another lad. "Uh, who are you?"

    Harry looked up to see Louis, his eyebrows raising a bit. The first thought that ran through Harry's mind was how **outrageously handsome** this feathered haired boy was. "I- uh, I'm Harry."

    "And what exactly are you doing here?" Louis stepped inside of the house, leaving the door opened so he could show Harry out.

    "Your wife.. uh, Eleanor," Harry was still having a hand over his nose, not being surprised if he had a bloody nose from the impact of the door hitting his face. "She gave me a summer job to help get me on my feet. Pool cleaning."

    Louis looked like he hadn't an idea about the arrangement, but the thoughts left his head when seeing the slightly taller boy holding his nose. "Are you alright there?"

Harry pulled his hand back, only to see that he was, in fact, bleeding. Some of the blood dripped onto his hand, and he could taste metallic on his upper lip. Cursing under his breath, he let out a sigh.

    Louis took notice to the blood on Harry's face, shutting the door behind him to prevent the A.C. from letting out of the house. "Come on," He spoke, leading Harry to the kitchen to get him cleaned up.

    Harry hadn't seen the entire house, so the kitchen was a new sight to his eyes. His gaze flickered around the room, how the expensive marble countertop shined and he swore he'd be able to see his reflection. It still amazed him how Louis and Eleanor could afford this place.

Louis grabbed a few paper towels, handing them over to Harry. He had the younger sit down on the stool in front of the island table. "Shit, I'm so sorry." He felt bad, he'd admit, mainly because it **was** him who knocked the door into Harry's face.

    He shook his head, tilting his head back some to stop the blood flow and holding the paper towel to his nose. "It's okay, don't worry about it."

    Louis noticed some of the blood on Harry's upper lip that wasn't wiped up with the provided paper towel. He retrieved another paper towel, lifting his hand up hesitantly when seeing Harry's confused look. But he wiped away the blood, thanking everything he had that he wasn't queazy and weak stomached when it came to blood. Harry's body tensed when he felt the new paper towel being dabbed at his lip, but didn't pull back from the touch.

    A delicate touch was used, the soft skin of Louis' hand brushing against Harry's cheek. Harry tried to look anywhere but Louis' eyes, the ceiling suddenly becoming quite interesting though it was just a normal, light blue painted shade.

    Even Louis refused to look up to Harry's eyes, because he didn't know what the hell was going on with him; he was straight and a married man, and he wanted it to stay that way. He kept telling himself that, and pulled away his hand once the blood was fully cleaned off Harry's lip. He moved away from the other, tossing the paper towel into the waste bin.

    Within a few more minutes after, the bloody nose had subsided and ceased, much to Harry and Louis' relief. The awkward silence in the kitchen was unbearable.

    "Well," Harry spoke, tossing the paper towel into the trash can. "I should get going."

    "Right. See ya, Harry." Louis nodded, and Harry was on his way again, the door thankfully not hitting him again on his way out.

 

-

 

    The house was empty that Saturday except for Harry, who was in the backyard working on cleaning the pool. His stepfather had taught him how to clean a pool many times, from when they used to have one of their own. He remembers helping him out sometimes throughout the summer days.

    Due to the extreme temperature from the heat wave that hit during the few days of the weekend, Harry was in his swimming trousers and his t-shirt was tossed over onto the lounge chair. Louis and Eleanor left earlier that day, assuring Harry that they wouldn't be back until late.

    Speaking of the couple, they had ended up in a fight from the hiring of Harry. Louis was angry that Eleanor didn't even consult with him about hiring some random boy to clean their pool and have access to their house when they weren't home at times. Eleanor tried assuring Louis that Harry was trustworthy, and that she had a good feeling about him. Within just the little time of knowing him, she felt as if he wasn't such a bad lad. Louis was running his hands through his hair in frustration, giving up on trying to prove his point. The argument ended with Louis ignoring Eleanor the remainder of the night, sleeping on the couch downstairs while Eleanor took the bed.

    Soon enough, though, the couple made up and were back to normal, the plans for Saturday night not being cancelled.

    It was midday, the clock going on about four when Harry began to work. He didn't want to work after around lunchtime, knowing that was when the heat wave was hitting hardest.

    He was currently standing along the edge, running the pool cleaning net through the water to clear out any insects or leaves that fell in over the past few days. That, was thankfully the easiest part.

    Within just a few hours of cleaning the pool skimmers and checking the filter (all of the beautiful pool cleaning nonsense), he was finally done. He was relieved, only complaining because of the heat. He grabbed his bottle of water from his bag, untwisting the cap and taking a large gulp, the cold liquid being refreshing.

    The advantage, though, was definitely being in the pool water itself during the cleaning. It was another upside that helped keep Harry cool and prevented him from falling onto the pool patio and having a heat stroke.

    After drying off with the towel he brought along, he draped it around his neck and tossed the empty water bottle and t-shirt into his bag. He grabbed the spare key he was provided with, heading through the house. Harry's eyebrows raised when seeing the front door be pushed open, Louis entering and slamming it behind him with a groan.

    Louis ran his hands over his face and messed up the quiff he styled his hair in for the special occasion, jumping in his spot when seeing Harry standing in the hallway and looking at him with a confused look. Harry hadn't expected them to arrive home so early.  And to make matters worse, the lad had to be bloody **shirtless**.

    Not only was that argument during the week that had passed about hiring Harry without consent, but also because Louis didn't want to let his inner hormonal teenager release. Louis wouldn't admit that to El, though.

    Because he's straight.

    "Sorry I- didn't expect you to still be here." Louis stuttered over his words, his gaze shifting to the floor, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it up on the coat rack blindly.

    "I was just leaving, actually.." Harry remembered he was shirtless, his eyes widening and glancing down at his chest, mentally cursing to himself. He should've put his goddamn shirt back on before deciding on walking through someone else's home without one on, unconsciously knowing that the owner of the home could walk in at any given moment. Harry noticed the stressed features that were practically stamped to Louis' forehead, being completely obvious.

    "You look stressed."

    "I am." Louis chuckled humorlessly, his fists clenching and unclenching.

    "Mind if I ask why?"

    Louis' gaze snapped up, surprised that Harry even cared about the lad's marriage issues. He sighed, his facial features softening. "Just yet another fight with Eleanor."

    "About?" Harry didn't know himself why he was asking Louis about his problems and love life.

    "Why do you care?" Louis snapped, making Harry frown. He didn't mean for the snappy tone to be intended in his voice; he was just so, **so** , irritated with his wife and accidentally took it out on Harry.

    "You just- y-you seem upset, and I hate seeing people upset when I could sit here and listen to them vent. Venting always helps."

    Louis' shoulders slumped, beginning to walk towards the living room and beckoning Harry to follow. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean to snap. I'm just pissy. But a venting buddy would help?"

    Harry was relieved that Louis wasn't angry with him, following him to the couch in the beautifully furnished living room. Harry wrapped the now dry towel around his waist before sitting down on the couch, so the couch wouldn't get wet from his damp trousers. He really wished he brought a change of clothes.

     "Eleanor, she just-" Louis started, putting his head in his hands and huffing. "She went completely out for this date, yeah? And I appreciate it, I really do. But she always has to make everything **perfect** , and maybe sometimes I just don't want perfect, y'know? Maybe a simple stay at home dinner and movie would've worked for me, not a bloody five star restaurant where the bill could buy us a new leather furniture set."

    Harry didn't lean back in his seat, afraid that he would damage the couch in case his back still was wet from the pool water. "You guys can afford it, right?"

    Louis nodded without question. "Yeah, of course. She likes to press that to her advantage though, as you can tell."

    "Where is she?"

    He smiled sheepishly, scratching at the back of his neck. "I- uh, may or may not have told her to fetch a cab home and took our car and came back not even halfway through dinner."

    Harry's eyes widened, though he laughed a bit. A hand slapped over his mouth, eyes widening and feeling guilty for laughing at the situation. "Oh, god, I shouldn't have laughed at that."

     Louis even laughed then. "Don't worry, it is quite funny when you think about it." He spoke. "I can be quite an asshole when I want to be."

     "Sassy, are we?" Harry raised an eyebrow, his hand falling back down to his lap.

     "Very."

     The two both laughed, and Louis suddenly remembered why Harry was here in the first place, almost forgetting due to the fact it felt like they were normal friends conversing. "Did she tell you how much we were paying you or?"

    Harry thought back to a few days ago. "No, she didn't."

    Louis rolled his eyes at her forgetfulness and pulled out his wallet, searching through the different holders. He pulled out a couple fifties, handing Harry over two hundred. Harry was surprised, eyes widening at the amount just for **one day** of cleaning a pool for just a few hours. "I-"

    Louis held his hand up with a smile, cutting Harry off. "I'm sure you did a great job at cleaning the pool, and I know how high the temperatures were today. So I figured I'd pay you a little extra."

    He held the money, his gaze counting over the bills and counting it, as if two hundred was too much for him to believe. "Thank you." Harry replied finally, a smile forming on his lips.

"Don't mention it."

 

-

 

    Louis could feel his marriage falling apart, and he didn't know whether to feel relieved or upset about it. Part of him wished for an opportunity of freedom away from Eleanor, while the other didn't want just four years to go entirely to waste over a few minor fights.

    If you'd call minor being a vase being launched towards Louis, making him duck and the glass shattering against the wall into hundreds of little pieces.

    Eleanor was off at work, Louis not being arsed to go into the car dealership for his shift. So he decided with staying in bed for a couple extra sleep in hours before at least attempting to be productive.

    Today would be a lonely day, but he somewhat hoped Harry would keep him company.

It was a weekday, and Harry didn't work on weekdays unless it was ultimately required and the pool was an absolute mess. Louis, with his cuppa and sitting on the couch, pondered over an excuse to get Harry over and the two could hang out.

    It was one of the lamest ideas he could've came up with, but he went through with it anyways.           

    After searching through a bunch of tossed around post it notes and note pads, he successfully found Harry's phone number. Subconsciously, he saved it into his phone.

    He pulled up the newly created contact, pressing the call button and bringing the device up to his ear. After a few buzzes, another voice answered on the other side of the phone, "Hello?"

    "Hi, Harry, it's Louis." Nice start, pal.

    Harry was surprised. "Oh," A few moments of silence occurred. "Hi, Louis. How did you-"

    "Eleanor had it written down in a stack of sticky notes, and I wanted to ask you something."

    "What is it?"

    Well, here goes nothing. "Did you want to, like, hang out? Come over and shoot some pool in the basement downstairs. I took off work today and I'm extremely bored-" Louis hadn't even realized he was rambling.

    Chuckling, Harry cut him off. "Louis." Louis stopped talking, having flaming cheeks on the other side of the phone and he swore that if he wasn't on the phone he'd be slapping himself silly.            

    "I would love to, but I'm a bit busy right now."

    "Oh," Louis' voice showed disappointment, even if he tried to hide it. "That's alright."

    "Nah, just kidding," Harry laughed, and was already pulling on his boots. "I'll be over shortly. Is Eleanor at work?"

    Louis' hopes rose again, a grin breaking out onto his face and doing a small happy dance in his seat. He almost forgot to answer Harry's question until the curly haired lad spoke again, "Lou?"

    The nickname sent Louis to the moon, but it snapped him back to reality. "She's at work. Won't get home until dinner." He could feel butterflies in his stomach, and he didn't know why.

    Because he was straight.

    "Sounds good." Harry hummed, grabbing his car keys off of the kitchen counter downstairs. "I'll see you soon."

    The two exchanged their small farewells, hanging up the phone. Louis suddenly felt as if the place was a mess, his OCD kicking in and he picked up a few empty used glasses sitting on the coffee table. It was as if he was tidying up to impress Harry, and that was surely the case.

    Just ten minutes later the doorbell sounded throughout the house, making Louis jump in his spot. That damn bell never failed to scare him at times.

    Placing another glass into the sink, Louis walked out of the kitchen and to the front door, pulling it open to see an (unfortunately fully clothed) Harry.

    Pushing away the thoughts, Louis offered the lad a smile and stepped to the side. "Fancy seeing you again."

    Harry rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "Likewise."

    "Basement doors this way." Louis led, shutting the door behind Harry so the two were both entered in the house. He walked down a long stripped hallway, Harry following behind and glancing around, yet again, at the furnishing and wall decors.

    Louis pulled open one of the many doors, a staircase leading down into the basement living area. The two descended down the staircase, Harry ducking so he wouldn't hit his head on one of the shelves hanging up on the side wall.

    The basement area was set up as what some may call a man's cave. There was an L-shaped couch and large flat screen telly up on the wall. Under the television was a playstation console, where different games lined up on the shelves of the TV stand.

    A mahogany colored carpet covered the cement flooring, and off in the corner was the pool table with cue racks hung up on the wall.

    In the process of tidying up the place quickly, Louis prepared a tray of different junk foods the two could snack on whilst playing a few (hundred) rounds of Fifa. He placed the tray carefully on the coffee table just prior to Harry's arrival.

    "This place is huge," Harry said in awe. "What other rooms am I unaware of?"

    Louis chuckled, picking up two of the cue sticks and tossing one to Harry, who surprisingly caught it in his hand. "We have a theatre upstairs. Was just fully furnished a few weeks ago."

    "Jesus Christ," He mumbled, shaking his head to bring himself back to reality when Louis was setting up the billiards rack.

    "Wanna break?" Louis asked, his gaze flickering up from the table to meet Harry's, who hadn't an idea of how to play pool to begin with.

    "I- yeah, sure." He said nervously, Louis lifting the rack and hanging it back up on the hook on the wall. He motioned towards the table with a smile. "Go ahead."

    Harry knew he was bound to make a fool of himself, not knowing how to properly handle the cue stick in his hands. Standing there for a few moments, he placed the (wrong) end of the stick down on the table and aimed towards the pool balls lined up in a triangle.

    Louis stood in amusement at Harry's clumsy figure, how the lad wasn't leaning down to get a better view for aim and using the wrong end of the stick. Shaking his head, he walked around the pool table to Harry's side, placing a hand on his arm.

    With blushing fiery cheeks, Harry looked over at Louis with a quite sheepish smile. He knew was making a fool out of himself.

    "First off, you're holding it the wrong way." Louis' tone was soothing, not laughing at the clumsy and embarrassed demeanor of Harry. He lifted the cue stick up off of the table, placing it in Harry's hands the **right** way. "Now, you lean down with the stick in hand, and aim at the balls."

Louis didn't know whether he was making a sexual innuendo or just explaining how to properly break in a game of billiards. Harry caught on, of course, gulping and following the instructions Louis was giving.

    When **still** not getting the correct position, Louis moved behind Harry and leaned down with him, an arm moving around his waist and over the hand of Harry's that was holding the end of the cue stick. He ignored the tingling feeling shooting through his arm, his other hand moving to the front of the stick over Harry's other hand.

    "Like this." Louis' voice was soft, his warm breath brushing against Harry's cheek. He drew his arm back with Harry's, pushing the cue ball placed in front of the stick forward and watching it zoom across the green felt board. It broke the striped and solids apart, Harry watching them separate.

    "There you go." Louis smiled, his gaze tearing away from the board and looking at Harry, whose face was incredibly close to his own. Harry looked away from the board as well, looking over at Louis with a timid smile.

    "Yeah," Harry murmured out. "Thanks." Louis' smile slowly faded and turned into a look that was more serious, or concentrated. He could feel Harry's breath against his lips and, **oh shit** , his breath smelt sweet of peppermint gum.

    It felt as if it was in slow motion, one of the balls rolling into the side cup of the billiards table. That may have been what broke Louis and Harry out of their daydreams, each wanting to move forward and make a move but not finding enough courage to do so.

    Louis stood and regained his posture, clearing his throat and wondering what the hell had come over him. He didn't know why he was feeling this way, and it was making his head spin. He was a married, **straight** man; he shouldn't be wanting to kiss this boy in his home.

    He grabbed the cue stick of his which was propped up against the table, clearing his throat and walking back around to the opposite side of Harry. He eyed a solid a

that was close to one of cups, not looking at Harry as he declared, "I call solids."

 

-

 

    The game eased the well built up tension from the closeness of previous before, much to both of the lads' relief. It was quite awkward during the beginning of the game, but eventually the two were laughing with occasional playful banner.

    "You so cheated!" Louis accused during a defeated game of Fifa, Harry and Louis sprawled out on the L-shaped couch with the controllers in hands.

    "I didn't, you just suck," Harry teased with a grin, dodging Louis' playful smack to his arm. "Fiesty."

    "I am the Fifa master, there is no way in hell you could've won that game without cheating." Louis' sassy attitude was showing, placing his controller on the coffee table, along with the now empty tray of snacks and crossing his arms over his chest.

    Harry rolled his eyes with a smile. "And how could I have possibly cheated?"

    "You probably played while I paused the game and went to the bathroom."

    Harry bit his lip to hold back laughter, and it gave away to Louis that Harry had in fact cheated whilst he went to have a wee. "You little shit-"

    Louis launched himself across the couch to attack Harry, who was laughing his arse off. The attack caused the two to fall off of the couch, and smack onto the carpeted floor. A groan let off Harry's lips, letting his head fall back against the carpet with a pained laugh. His arms went around Louis' waist, blocking the other's fall.

    Laughing along, Louis supported himself up with his arms and hovered above Harry, looking down at him. "You alright there?"

    Harry nodded, his laughter dying down and catching his breath that he lost from the two's play fight. He looked up at Louis, a small smile on his face. "Yeah," His voice was quiet, not finding the willpower to have his voice be any louder; especially with Louis' face so close to his.

    "Good." Louis had the same concentrated look like before, his eyes scanning over every inch of Harry's face. Like how nice his cheekbones and jawline were, and them goddamned pink, plumped lips that were parted from loss of breath. Despite his claimed to be sexuality, his gaze lingered on Harry's lips longer than necessary.

    Harry's breath caught in his throat, his eyes flickering up to Louis' and seeing where the other's gaze was led. Instinctively, his gaze moved down to Louis' own lips. He would've said something - **anything** \- to break the silence, but his voice wouldn't let him.

    It all happened in the blink of an eye. One moment the boys were playing a normal game of Fifa - with the cheating of Harry, of course - and next thing you know they were crashed down on the floor, lips molding together and moving in what seemed like perfect rhythm.

    Louis was the one to initiate the action, pushing away any thoughts that were holding him back from kissing Harry in the first place. His sexuality, his marriage; not mattered in just that split moment.

    Until it came back to him again.

    Gasping against Harry's lips, he quickly pulled back and scrambled to his feet, grasping onto the corner of the coffee table to help push himself up. From the quickness of Louis pulling back, Harry felt that pang of rejection wash over him. "No, oh god-" Louis' eyes were wide, and not in the way of his inner hormonal teenager coming out, because that was certainly not the case. He was mortified from the fact that he kissed a boy, **and** cheated on his wife of four years.

    Harry sat up slowly, but with each inch that Harry came to sitting fully upwards, Louis backed up, running his hands over his face and muttering repeatedly, 'oh my god', 'no.. no'.

    "Louis-" Harry tried to say, tone gentle with ease. But he didn't want to freak out the other more than he already was. His expression already gave away that he was completely astounded.

    "No." Louis said again, his fingertips brushing over his bottom lip, where Harry's just were. "I'm- I'm straight."

    Eyebrows furrowed, Harry stood to his feet. Not only was a snap of rejection flooded through him, but maybe even a pinch of anger. He didn't know how to feel - Louis was the one to initiate the kiss. **Louis**. "Really doesn't appear that way."

    "I am," Louis insisted, though it seemed like he was trying to convince more himself rather than Harry. "You need to leave."

    "You're joking, right?" Oh, now Harry was feeling his tempter begin to boil. "You made the move, Louis. So don't you dare go and turn this around on me."

    "You may be gay, but I'm not." Louis shook his head at the obscene thought. He wasn't homophobic, no; you loved who you loved and it was as simple as that. But the thought of him being with a guy, was incredulous to him.

    Harry clenched his jaw, reaching down to snatch up his jacket he tossed over the back of the couch. "I'm leaving."

    Part of Louis wanted to scream at him not to go, because he really didn't mean when he said the words, 'you need to leave'. It was an in the moment situation, and he couldn't bring himself to step forward to stop Harry from walking up the basement steps and storming out of the house.

    After calls and endless text messages with no replies from Harry, Louis tossed his phone on the coffee table in the upstairs living room and put his head in his hands with a groan. He was straight, so why was he feeling this way and maybe, just possibly, **craving** the feeling of Harry's lips against his own again?

    But Louis wouldn't fully admit that to himself.

    He just kept telling himself he was straight, repeating the word in his head and pushing any thoughts of Harry aside.

    When Eleanor arrived home that same night, she walked into the kitchen to hang her car keys up on the wall hook, eyes landing on the sink that was filled with empty and dirty glasses.          

    Another fight was triggered, giving Louis a migraine that he just couldn't seem to get rid of.

And maybe that's why he let Eleanor win the argument, telling her he would wash them up the next day. It was clear that the air was tense, and a thought occurred to Louis. But it wasn't related to the tension.

    It was that he wanted to forget about Harry. (but Eleanor didn't need to know, right?)

    Which is why he brought Eleanor up to their bedroom, letting their lips move together and clothes were slowly discarded on the way to the married couple's bed.

    Louis could feel frustration bubbling inside of him, especially when he couldn't bring himself to be hard and turned on through this moment of intimacy.

    But with one thought of the curly haired boy being underneath of him rather than his wife did the trick, and Louis wanted to punch himself in the face for even thinking of Harry whilst having sex with Eleanor.

    Because he was straight.

 

-

 

    That next week was agonizingly long, business being slow at the car dealership for Louis, making his shifts seem longer.

    Harry had only been at the Tomlinsons' residence once since Louis and Harry's fight, and during the timespan was when no one was home. Louis left a good wad of cash on the kitchen counter for him to have for his work.

    He was still quite angry at Louis for what he said, but he knew it wasn't completely Louis' fault. You can't force a sexuality on someone, and if Louis really was straight, then Harry knew he'd just have to deal with it and get over the stupid crush he developed on him.

    One day while no one was home during the weekend, approximately midday, Harry was outback cleaning the pool that wasn't too dirty, thankfully. Only a few leaves that fell from the trees and dead incests that floated around the dusty water. All that was needed was the clear out the bugs and leaves, then switch the cleaning filter.

    Harry was standing on the edge of the pool with his swim trunks on, shirt tossed over the lounge chair. The sun was beginning to set, and Harry was thankful the heat in the air was dying down and becoming progressively cooler.

    Louis had gotten off work early that day, expecting Harry to be gone by then when he arrived back at his home. But as noticed, that wasn't the case. So he was standing at the backdoor, in the house and looking through the glass door at a shirtless Harry.

    The sliding open of the door startled Harry, and just conveniently there was a small puddle of water by his foot. He was setting down the net, and when hearing the door open, he spun around to look over towards the house where Louis was standing, only to have his foot slip right into the puddle. Harry gasped, losing his balance and falling backwards into the deep-end of the pool with a loud yelp.

    Louis' eyes widened. "Harry!" He called, hurrying out of the backdoor and rushing up to the edge of the pool to look down into the ten foot deep water. The startle to Harry caused him to not hold his breath when going under, water clouding into his throat. The coughing from Harry only made him inhale more chlorinated water, and he couldn't find strength to swim back to the surface, his vision blurring and the edges of his gaze darkening around the edges of his vision.

    Louis waited a few moments to see if Harry would swim back up, and when he didn't he felt himself fill with worry. "Oh no," He repeated the words again and again, his heartbeat increasing.      

    He quickly lifted his shirt up over his head and tugged down his trousers so he was just in his boxers, wasting no time and diving into the crystal clear water while holding his breath. He opened his eyes underneath of the water to get a view of Harry, kicking his feet hard and swimming towards the bottom where he could see a blurry, limp and lanky figure. Swimming to the bottom, he reached his arms out to wrap around Harry's waist.

    Louis used the floor of the pool to hoist himself back up to the surface of the water, his foot kicking off the slippery bottom. He held onto Harry tightly, gasping for air when reaching the surface. With damp fringe hanging over his face, he struggled but swam to the edge and hoisted Harry up onto the pavement, climbing up and crawling over next to him.

    He sat on his knees, leaning over Harry's laid down figure and tapping his cheek gently. "Harry?"

    With the water blocking Harry's airway, he wasn't able to get much air into his lungs, and Louis noticed when pressing two fingers underneath of his jaw to feel for the light pulse. Louis knew the only way to provide Harry oxygen to breathe was through CPR, and he thanked everything he had for learning about it in his medical course during university.

    Ignoring the fluttering feeling in his stomach, he tilted Harry's chin up to allow better airway. He listened closer for any small breaths, sighing in relief when he knew that Harry was still breathing.

    Louis folded his hands over Harry's chest, giving him five compressions to help get the water out of Harry's throat. "C'mon, Haz." He murmured, the random nickname popping to mind and tumbling out of his lips.

    Louis pinched the bridge of Harry's nose, leaning down and pressing his lips to the other's, breathing in two puffs of air. He gave another set of chest compressions, jumping when seeing Harry cough, turning on his side to cough the water in his throat up over the pavement. Louis breathed out in relief, sitting back on his heels and legs that were becoming scraped from the scratchy pavement, but the only thing he cared about was making sure Harry was okay.

    Harry laid back down on the pavement, his eyes fluttering open and looking up to the setting sky. His breathing was heavy, but regular, eyebrows furrowing and wondering why he was outside to begin with. But then he remembered falling in the pool, and he turned his head to see Louis.

    "You alright?" Louis' voice was gentle, a small smile on his face. Without thinking, he reached his hand out and brushed away some of the damp curls that stuck to Harry's forehead.

    Harry leaned into the touch, nodding in response. "Yeah," He croaked out, coughing again. "I'm good."

    "Scared me there for a moment." A small chuckle let off Louis' lips as he spoke, an apologetic expression clear on his face. "I should've been a bit more careful to prevent from scaring you."

    "Sh, it's okay." Harry sent Louis a timid smile, then remembered that the two were still in that awkward tension from previous before, when Harry paid a visit to keep Louis company. His smile fell, slowly sitting up.

    Louis' eyebrows furrowed. "H, what's wrong?"

    "I need to leave. I'm done cleaning anyways." Truth was, Harry wasn't completely done cleaning the pool. He still had to fetch out the leaves and insects, and even switch the filter. But with Louis here it was just too awkward for him to handle.

    "Wait- no." Louis' voice was quick, a bit too quick. He had just practically drowned the poor lad, he couldn't just let him go on a blank note like that. Harry furrowed his brows, looking over to meet Louis' suddenly panicked gaze. "What do you mean **no**?"

   "Don't go." Louis spit out, unable to filter his own damn mouth. He added on a whispered, "Please."

    Rolling his eyes, "Why not." Harry spat, leaning back on the palms of his hands and looking over to the water that was becoming clearer than when he first arrived. It was working progress, but it still needed more work, surely.

    Inhaling a slow intake of breath, Louis knew the tension was too much. Pushing all screaming thoughts aside, he sat up on his knees and ignored the scraping feeling of the pavement against his kneecaps, climbing over Harry. Harry, quite startled once again, turned to face Louis with wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

    "Louis, what're you-"

    "Don't go." Louis' demeanor had changed, a pleading tone to his voice yet a hesitant expression written across his face. He was a shy lad, especially at a time like this.

    "Seriously, Louis. What the hell are y-" Harry was cut off, but not by Louis' voice. Instead it was the Doncaster lad's lips, hips shifting forward and hands raising to cup Harry's soft, barely stubbled cheeks.

    The Cheshire lad himself could say he was quite surprised. One moment Louis was claiming to be straight, next thing he was initiating yet **another** bloody kiss. It was driving Harry nuts, but something about Louis' confusion on his sexuality drove him a good kind of crazy. Harry reacted to the kiss several moments after being in a state of frozen shock, leaning back onto the pavement and moving his lips against Louis', who was hovering above him. What surprised him even more was when Louis broke the kiss, and Harry could've sworn that Louis would have up and left again like before, but the trailing kisses down his neck said otherwise. His eyes fluttered shut, head tilting and lips parting while a small breath let off.

    Louis was trying to hold himself together - he really was. But when Louis reached down to Harry's collarbone after placing kisses to the tan boy's skin and tears clouding his vision, he was unable to stop the sniffles. Harry's eyes snapped back open, filled with concern and worry. Harry knew it could have been either a runny nose or Louis beginning to cry, but he assumed it was the latter.

    "Louis?" Harry asked, hands on Louis' lower back and sitting up. The two were still in the same position, Louis straddling Harry's hips and Harry sitting up on the concrete pavement, holding him close when Louis clutched to him and let out a quiet sob.

    When Louis hadn't responded to Harry to begin with, Harry let Louis cry, holding onto him around his waist and stroking his back with occasional words of reassurance like, "sh, sh, it's okay." or, "breathe, love."

    The cries soon fell silent, the only noises being able to be heard in the air was the sound of the chirping birds in their nests up in the trees, and Louis' soft breathing. Harry thought he fell asleep, until Louis pulled back and rubbed his eyes slowly. He was embarrassed, for sure. Trying to hold himself together, Louis asked with a quiet voice, "H-Harry.. am I.. gay?"

    Harry frowned, suddenly feeling sympathy. He didn't realize just how confused Louis was about his sexuality until just now, while this older lad was sitting on his lap and crying to him. "That's not a decision for me to make, Lou.."

    A tear slipped, whispering. "I'm so confused. I don't know what to do."

    "I could.. try to help you," Harry started, shaking his head and adding on, "I mean - like, help you figure out your sexuality. I know the struggle, I went through it back when I was still in school."

    Louis blinked a couple times, his eyelashes wet with tears and cheeks stained from tear tracks. "Please.."

    "Of course. Let's just go inside and get changed first, yeah? The sun's starting to set."

    Louis glanced up at the sky to see it was beginning to turn a shade of orange and yellow, the sun starting to set over the horizon. In that moment, Harry swore that Louis couldn't be any more beautiful than he was right now, the orange sun glimmering on his face. He wanted to just take a picture and frame it on his bedroom wall. But Louis would probably think that's creepy. "You're beautiful." He found himself saying his thoughts aloud, and Louis looked back to meet his gaze, cheeks turning a light pink.

    "Let's go inside." He whispered, but he didn't want to get up. Shyly, he asked, "Carry me?"

Harry could only smile, standing up from the pavement and lifting Louis up in the process so the smaller's legs was still wrapped around his waist. Louis clung to Harry, face buried in his neck and inhaling the chlorine scent mixed with Harry's natural cinnamon, Calvin Klein scent.

It was intoxicating.

    Oh how Eleanor wouldn't enjoy seeing this right now, but Louis remembered receiving a text from her saying that she'd be heading to a friend's house after work and staying the night. Louis didn't mind, at all.

    After they changed back into their clothes, Harry thanking everything that he brought a spare change this time, Louis insisted on being carried to the living room, a loose pair of sweats hanging on his waist and a low dipped t-shirt hugging his chest. Harry guided his feet to the couch, carefully setting Louis down on the cushions and taking a seat beside him.

    Then the tension was back, both remembering why they came in here to begin with. Harry started off easy, "Have you ever felt any attraction towards a guy before?"

    "Considering I've been married the past four years of my life.. no." Louis brought his legs up onto the couch to sit crisscross, hands folded in his lap while he picked distractedly at his fingernails.

    "And how do you feel towards Eleanor?"

    Silence filled the room for what felt like a millennium, but was only maybe two minutes.  Harry went to speak again, but Louis beat him to it. "She drives me nuts,"

    "Everything with her starts fights, and I'm so sick of it. It's to the point where it doesn't even feel like a marriage anymore, instead feels like I'm being tied down. And all of this didn't start right after you showed up and El hired you without telling me. It's been happening for a few months, actually.."

    Harry gnawed at his bottom lip. "Do you still have feelings for her?"

    Hesitation was clear on Louis' face, before he replied with a very disbelieving, "Yes."

    "Tell the truth, Louis."

    "Of course I do - maybe. I-I'm not sure. The fighting has only made us drift apart and make my feelings fade away. Is that normal?"

    Harry nodded, leaning back against the chair. The couple was distancing - and for some, that's how their timeline played out. Others longer and more successful than others. "'Course it is, Lou. Tell me - if you filed for a divorce and she went through with the papers, would you regret it?"

    Louis thought about it. Would he regret it? He would finally be off of what felt like a dog leash and able to do as he pleases. He doesn't even remember the last time he had a proper night out with the lads. Taking a deep breath, he answered, "No."

    "Then there's your answer." This talk was surely making progress.

    "What does this have to do with my confused sexuality?" Louis' gaze was fixated on his lap and fingertips, hissing when one of his nails ripped a bit too far and caused a burning pain in his pointer finger.

   "It was a lead up to the topic, now hush." Harry chuckled, but went serious. He felt like a therapist, but wasn't complaining about the fact. Suddenly, out came a, "Do you have feelings for me?"

    Louis' head snapped up from his hands so fast Harry sworn he could've sprained his neck muscles. "I-" He stumbled out, hand running up to tangle through his hair in frustration. "I don't know, Harry! That's the part I need help with figuring out!"

    Harry groaned under his breath, lifting both hands up and massaging his temples to prevent the oncoming headache he could feel forming. He scooted closer to Louis, sitting up fully and turning to face Louis. "Tell me. Do you have feelings for me?"

    "I don't know," He whispered. "I don't know."

    Harry reached his hand up and cupped the side of Louis' cheek, thumb grazing over the soft skin delicately. "Do you like this, knowing that me, Harry Styles, is the one doing this right now?"

    "I don't kn-" Louis was cut off by the familiar pair of lips, and he found himself melting into the kiss, returning it with little to no hesitation. There was something about Harry's lips he found intriguing and addicting. Harry's hand on Louis' cheek slipped to the back of the Donny boy's head, tugging him closer while they shared a heated lip-locking session.

    When Harry pulled back, faces still inches apart, he asked, "Did you like that?"

    Gulping, Louis nodded slowly, not finding the willpower to speak in fear of being lost of his voice. Harry inhaled deeply, looking away over at the wall, afraid that Louis would say the same thing, "How do you feel now?"

    "That I really, really want you to kiss me again." Louis said, much to Harry's surprise. Those definitely weren't the words he was expecting. He was expecting an, "I'm straight, arsehole. Now get out of my house." And to make things better, Louis even sounded a bit more confident in his voice.

    But Harry obliged, leaning and crashing his lips against Louis' once again. It was all normal, until Louis swept his tongue out and across Harry's bottom lip, reaching forward by surprise and taking the lip between his teeth, eliciting a small groan from Harry.

    "Jesus Christ," Harry murmured, sitting up on his knees and moving closer to Louis, if even so possible, pushing the lad back against the couch cushion. Harry pulled away from the kiss, peppering soft ones down Louis' tan neck and he could feel the uncomfortable sporty forming in his sweatpants he had changed himself into after falling into the pool.

    Louis' head tilted back, eyelids fluttering and his hands moving to the back of Harry's shirt, where he gripped at the fabric. He could surely feel the forming boner of Harry's against his own front, and if he wasn't so inexperienced with male sexual activity, he'd help.

    So many thoughts were running through his head. One was screaming at him to run off because he was **straight** , but the other was saying to stay, because there certainly was some sort of attraction towards Harry that he was trying to deny.

    Harry pushed up the fabric of Louis' shirt, eyes scanning down the torso and thinking about how fit Louis was. He didn't have a complete set of abs, but there was definitely muscle. He leaned down again to kiss over his stomach, murmuring against the skin. "Want to mark you."

Harry's deep voice was a change to Louis' ears, sending a shiver down his spine. "What about Eleanor?" Harry looked up from Louis' stomach, keeping his lips lingering above the skin. "I won't make it dark."

    "Okay." Louis whispered, and Harry shut his eyes, dipping back down and pressing a few kisses, nipping and sucking at the skin right underneath of Louis' ribcage. Louis hissed when Harry bit too hard, Harry glancing up to make sure he was okay. The pain faded, Louis twitching in his pants and cursing under his breath, making Harry smirk.

    "Newfound pain kink." He analyzed, looking back down and seeing the bruise forming. It was semi-dark, and would be noticeable if Louis' shirt was off. Part of him didn't even care that Eleanor had the chance of seeing it within the next few days of the love-bite healing. "Shut it." Louis spoke with gritted teeth, small hands balled up into fists against Harry's upper back. "Now you've gotten me hard, you fucking twat."

    Harry had that innocent smile on his face, his fingertips brushing down Louis' torso, purposely grazing the love-bite. A small gasp was heard when Harry made it down to the front Louis' sweatpants, cupping him over the irritating fabric, Harry noticing now just how Louis' cock was hardening under his touch.

    "Didn't know I had such an effect on you." Harry hummed, Louis shooting him a glare until his face scrunched in pleasure from just the littlest touch with Harry's larger hands. He slipped his fingertips under the waistband of Louis' sweats, looking up at him for reassurance. "May I?"

    "This hard on isn't going to fix itself."

    Harry smirked at Louis' sassy tone, pulling his hand away from Louis' front and using both hands to tug down the sweatpants and boxers in one go, pushing them down to Louis' ankles.

The thought of Louis doing this with a guy was weird and foreign to him, but - **oh** \- the new feeling of Harry's mouth enveloping the tip of Louis' dick was blissful. The tip of Harry's tongue brushing over the slit and wiping away the leaking precome had Louis tangling his fingers through Harry's curls.

    "Fuck, Harry," He murmured, Harry pulling off to lick a bold stripe up the underside of Louis' length, before taking Louis back into his mouth, taking more inch by inch. Louis remembered back to the times Eleanor would supply Louis with blowjobs, but Harry's fuller, more sinful lips were so much better, moving expertly up and down Louis' cock whilst bobbing his head. It was unbelievable how things had changed so fast, one minute the two were having a serious discussion on sexuality and next Harry is sucking Louis off. But life just has a funny way of working out, doesn't it?

    Harry used one hand to claw lightly down Louis' side, the other fondling with the Donny lad's balls and having Louis a withering, moaning mess underneath of his touch. His head would rise up and off of Louis' cock with a quiet pop, tongue swirling around the head and disappearing back between Harry's lips again.

    A string of curse words were heard from Louis, hips bucking up and making Harry gag from the sudden action. Louis giggled - **fucking giggled** \- as a form of apology, and when Harry glanced up with Louis' cock in his mouth, you can surely bet Louis was quickly shut up from the sight. "Shit, that's hot." He found himself saying, feeling Harry smirk against him.

    Louis could feel that he was close within minutes. "H-Harry - I'm gonna.." He warned, not wanting to come into Harry's mouth. And the moment he went to pull Harry off, Harry grunted and stayed put.

    Louis tried holding his load back; he really did.

    But then he was letting go into Harry's mouth, not having any control and Harry taking the load in with only a drip or two spilling down his barely stubbled chin. He swallowed the load that filled his mouth, head bobbing lightly to let Louis overcome his high and tongue brushing the slit to catch any extra come that escaped.

    And when he did, Louis looked at Harry, and shock and disbelief was stamped across his forehead. Harry pulled off with another pop, sitting up and looking at Louis while wiping underneath of his chin, "How was that?" Louis was shocked, truly. Eleanor never let him come in her mouth, saying how it was gross and disrespectful as her right to being a girl. She would complain in general whenever it came time to sexual activity, unless it was all out of anger or random sprouts of hormones. It was just something Louis had become accustomed to, most of the times just being him and his right hand, but this change with Harry; he liked.

    "Louis?" Harry's voice snapped him out of his daydream and back to reality.

    “Amazing.” Was the only word to describe how the previous occurrence was, and the feeling that was coursing through him at this very moment. It was still a come down from his high.

    Harry smiled, letting off a small sigh from his lips when the smile faded. “I really do like you, Louis, despite us only knowing each other for like, what, a month now? I just.. want you to know that.”

    Louis nodded, “I know, Haz. Just.. I gotta figure out a few things first. Get my head on straight and sort my feelings.”

    “I can understand that.”

 

-

 

    That next week was semi-okay, truthfully. The house was quiet, Eleanor working most hours of the day and leaving the house to Louis by himself. Though he didn’t mind; he sometimes preferred to be alone, anyways. It helped him think things through.

    He was still thinking about it all. His sexuality, his relationship with Eleanor. It was driving him insane - he wasn’t sure what to do. Not only was his thoughts driving him mad, but so was the sudden fever he had caught. He had woken up one morning to feeling like absolutely shit, his forehead burning up and nose stuffy

    While Eleanor was at work one day, and Louis was overthinking, lounging around in just his boxers and laying in bed, a thought came to mind. He knew it probably wasn’t the greatest strategy to ‘figuring yourself out’, but it was worth a shot, right? Besides, he was curious.

    Grabbing his laptop off of the nightstand, he sat up in bed and placed the device on his lap, sniffling and opening the lid. He’d taken medication to lower his fever, and had a Yorkshire cuppa prepared right on his bedside table, mixed with honey and sugar. Louis’ computer screen flashed onto the desktop, opening a tab for the internet.

    His fingers hovered above the keys for a moment, wondering how the hell to even word the google search. He went with something simple, yet effective.

     _Am I gay?_

    He felt silly for searching such a thing, but maybe reading about other people’s experiences with figuring out sexualities would help him with his own. Though he insisted he was straight, he couldn’t get the lad with the fluffy curls and beautiful green eyes out of his head. He remembered back to the day just a week ago when Harry’s lips were wrapped around his-

    Louis shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside and scrolling through the list of google results. He selected a random one, that led to a WikiHow website.

    He read through one of the portions of the webpage, gnawing at his lip when reading, _“Understand that having a homosexual encounter does not necessarily mean that you are gay.”_

So there was still the possibility of him being, in fact, straight? Just because he had a few encounters with Harry, couldn’t mean that he’s gay, right? Shaking his head, he read on to the next section, huffing and searching a few other webpages.

    Some options he read over said to overthink past experiences with the opposite sex, compared to the same sex. He thought back to kissing Eleanor, and then Harry. Sure, Eleanor was a nice kisser and all, but Harry’s lips drove Louis crazy in the best way possible. They were much more fuller and plump, and damned soft.

    He thought back to having sex with Eleanor, eyebrows furrowing when he had to think of Harry in order to get hard during intercourse with his wife. And when Harry sucked him off - the thought just made Louis squirm in his seat.

    He really didn’t want to have to go wank in the shower right now.

     _Remember that you are not alone._

    Those next words put Louis at ease. He knew he wouldn’t be alone; there are so many people in his position right now, worried about judgement and being completely confused in general. Louis sighed, debating on whether he could be bisexual or not. He’s always liked girls, but now that Harry’s in the picture, he finds himself liking the lad. It was just one boy - maybe Louis thought it was a phase.

    Another piece of advice from the monitor screen writing was, _“Discover what makes you aroused.”_

    So that’s what Louis did, turning to open a new tab in the internet browser, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply while looking up a porn site.  

    His cheeks reddened in embarrassment, even though he was the only one home and no one would know he was searching up these websites, anyways.

    He clicked on the gay tab of the website, watching the homescreen transfer to a list of different videos for him to choose from. He selected a random one, and much to his luck, it was the two guys having sex.

    “Here goes nothing.” He murmured to himself, clicking play and grabbing his headphones quickly - just in case. He plugged them into the laptop, plugging the earbuds into each of his ears.

    The first few minutes of the video was boring - just being a small short film almost and the two guys showing up and having a casual conversation about work. When the brunette made a move on the blonde, Louis’ eyebrows widened. The two were kissing, things heating up fairly quickly, the office door being locked and the windowblinds screwed shut.

    Louis watched as they were undressed each other and grinded up against their fronts, feeling a tightening feeling in his own pants.

    This video was turning him on - and he wasn’t sure how to feel.

    “Doesn’t that hurt?” Louis whispered to himself when seeing the two perform anal sex after a whole ton of foreplay, including handjobs and blowjobs and plenty of kisses.

    Louis squinted at the screen, seeing the blonde’s face contorting up in pleasure with moans trembling from his lips while the brunette pushed inside of him. Louis felt a weird feeling form inside of him, and by the end of the video he was hard, cursing to himself.

    Guess that shower was happening, after all.

    On the plus side, at least Louis knew how sex with a guy worked now.

 

-

 

    That weekend, Harry was over to clean the pool again. And after he finished with it, Louis invited him inside for a cuppa. “Are you feeling better?” Harry asked once Louis told him about the fever and stuffy nose he just recovered from over the week.

    “Lots,” Louis smiled, letting the water boil in the kettle resting on the stove. He leaned against the counter, giving Harry a little thumbs up to reassure he was feeling much better. “Plenty of Yorkshire tea, medication, and rest helped do the trick. My temperature is finally back down to normal.”

    “Good,” Harry took a seat down on the stool in the kitchen, his ankles crossing over one another. Biting his lip, he asked, “Have you thought about it?”

    The kettle suddenly began whistling, Louis spinning around to grab the handle and lift it off the stovetop. He poured an even amount of the water into each of the two mugs he set out, asking Harry, “About my sexuality?”

    Louis heard a small hum in reply, which was a way of Harry replying with a yes.

    “Yes, I have.” He spoke, his back to Harry. Louis grabbed the Yorkshire tea bags, placing one in each of the mugs and grabbing the sugar and honey, setting them off evenly into the mugs as well, adding a little more for himself.

    Harry awaited another response, but when none came he asked, “And?”

    Sighing, “Well, I guess I’ve come to terms with myself that I’m bisexual, maybe? I’ve always liked girls - well, Eleanor. She was my first sincere relationship so I haven’t ever been out to explore different options, y’know?”

    “But, besides the girl attraction, I know that I’ve some sort of feelings for you,” He set the mugs down on the island countertop, taking a seat on the stool across from Harry’s. He lifted his gaze to look at Harry, passing him his tea. “It’s quite inevitable, I guess. I’ve tried pushing away the feelings but they just won’t piss off. Which is probably why I didn’t push you away again when we kissed out by the pool.”

    Harry stirred around the liquid in the mug with the provided spoon, his eyes watching the liquid swirl in slow circles. “So what’re you saying?”

    “I do have feelings for you, Harry. If I didn’t and I thought that you were trying to pressure a sexuality on me and completely doom my relationship, I would’ve gotten a new pool boy long ago when we first kissed.”

    Harry felt his heart pounding in his chest with happiness. Louis liked him! And he openly admitted to it. They were finally making progress.

    “What are you going to do about Eleanor?” He asked, almost forgetting about the brunette lass that Louis was legally married to.

    Louis shook his head, taking a careful sip from the hot tea. The hot liquid ran down his throat, leaving behind a burning sensation he didn’t pay much mind to. “Honestly? I’m probably going to file for a divorce soon. All we do is fight anymore and I’m so sick of it,” Now it was Louis’ turn to watch the swirling tea in his cup. “Also, I don’t think continuing to cheat on her would be such a good idea. She’s already thrown a glass vase at me - which was very fucking expensive, by the way - who knows what else she’d do to try and harm me.”

    Harry’s demeanor faltered. “So no more kissing and affection?”

    “For now.” Louis looked over at Harry, giving him a reassuring smile. “Once the papers are signed, I’m all yours, babe.”

    The pet name Louis used for Harry made his heart flutter, the smile reappearing. “Okay, fair enough.”

    “Until then, I’m going to enjoy this cuppa.” Louis laughed, lifting the mug to his lips and taking another sip.

 

-

 

    That night, when Louis ran out to the grocery store to buy a few necessities, he came home to Eleanor’s car being parked in the driveway. Sighing, he made his way into the house, quickly putting away the frozen and refrigerated items before heading upstairs. He planned on confessing up to Eleanor about the divorce tonight. 

    But things don’t always go as planned, do they?

    He stepped foot into the two’s bedroom, and saw Eleanor sitting up on the bed with furrowed eyebrows and his laptop in her lap. “Hey, babe, what’re you-”

    “Don’t _babe_ me,” She snapped, and it was then Louis noticed the glistening tears forming in her eyes. The laptop light reflected off of her face, eyes wet and she looked up to face Louis.

    Louis rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, _here comes another damned fight._ “What now? What did I forget to do?”

    “Oh, I don’t know, clear your internet history?” Eleanor had the knowing tone in her voice, spinning the laptop around so the screen was in Louis’ view. Written across the screen was the article he was reading up on the other, wording off, _“Am I gay?”_

    Louis’ throat went dry.

    _Uh oh._

    “So when we’re you going to tell me you were a closeted gay?” She slammed the laptop screen shut, pushing it over onto the bed next to her. Louis was out of comebacks and ways to defend himself. There was no way he could make up a lie about this one; the tab was opened on **his** computer.

    “I-I’m not gay.” He managed out, voice weak and looking away from Eleanor’s harsh gaze.

    “Then why the hell were you searching up articles and going on a bloody porn site and researching gay intercouse and sexuality?”

    Louis had to man up. He cleared his throat, taking a deep breath and making his voice more stable, less shaky. “It’s called bisexual.”

    “Bisexual,” She laughed, rolling her eyes. “Last time I checked you were straight. And these search histories clearly are recent, since they were logged into the history a few days ago. So fess up, Louis. We’ve been married for the past four years and you haven’t had any other serious relationships before me. There’s a guy you’ve got your eye on that made you feel this way and change completely.”

    Eleanor’s voice was expressing hurt, and even anger. She was conflicted, not believing that there was another man in Louis’ life that clearly had him more interested in the lad than compared to his own wife. That was what she assumed, at least; though her assumptions were correct.

    “Yeah, there is,” Well, there was no point in hiding it now. “Eleanor, if you would just let me explain-”

    “It’s that Harry lad, isn’t it?” Her voice dripped venom at the thought of it being Harry. She truly thought he was a sweet lad, from when they first met and he was just a boy who needed a summer job to help launch himself off to university.

    Louis’ face gave it away, Eleanor letting out a sarcastic, unbelieving laugh and pushing herself up off of the bed. “What, have you been cheating on me, too?”

    “Eleanor, I’m sorry-”

    “You have!” She didn’t try stopping the tears from flowing down her cheeks, letting out a small sob and turning away from Louis.

    Louis hated having a big heart, feeling bad about the entire situation. He stayed silent as Eleanor composed herself and began to pack her bags. “You know, if I knew this was to happen, I would’ve never said yes when you proposed to me.”

    Ouch, well, that hurt.

    He didn’t try stopping her when she gathered a bag of her things and walked over to the bedroom door, but not before removing the wedding and engagement rings from around her ring finger, tossing them carelessly onto the bed. “Don’t worry, I’ll get the bloody divorce papers soon so you can be with your little precious Harry.”

    “Thanks for settling this like adults.” Louis murmured under his breath when she exited the room, a door slam soon following, signaling that she had left the house.

    Despite the fact that Louis should be upset about his failing marriage, he felt a giant weight was lifted off of his chest.

 

-

 

    Louis hadn’t heard from Eleanor since she stormed out, except the week following she paid a surprise visit with a suited man and stack of papers. And of course, it was at one of the greatest times - when Harry was at the Tomlinson’s residence.

    She had just entered the house, not bothering to knock. She had a suitcase in hand, to collect some more of her items that she left behind from her storm out. 

    “Fancy seeing you, too.” Louis mumbled, Harry staying put on the couch while Louis went to tend to Eleanor and the tall, business suited man.

    “I’m here with the papers. And for the rest of my stuff.” She spoke in a monotoned voice, rolling her eyes when seeing Harry sat in the living room.

    Louis sighed. “Here’s an idea. We get this over with, no conversation.”

    Rolling her eyes again, Eleanor nodded and the tall man, whose name was Steve, sprawled out the papers on the countertop in the kitchen. “Just sign in the required blanks and we’re good to go until further notice.”

    Louis grabbed a pen, eyes reading the documents at a scanning pace before signing on the line beneath Eleanor's signature in a horribly awkward silence. Harry was secretly watching from the couch, his head peeking up over the back of it in curiosity. He swore that you could cut the tension with a knife, and he couldn’t help but feel bad for feeling like he had ruined Louis’ marriage.

    “Alright,” Steve murmured, scooping the papers together when each of them were signed and putting them in the folder. “I now pronounce you two as divorced.”

    Eleanor nodded once and sniffled, picking up her suitcase and heading upstairs to retrieve the rest of her clothes and necessities. Louis stayed put, knowing that if he followed after her it wouldn’t be the best sight.

    Instead, he turned to Steve and held out a hand, “Thank you for taking time out of your day to do this. I can’t imagine how annoying it must be to see couples splitting up and being all dramatic.”

    Steve chuckled, taking Louis’ hand and giving it a firm shake. “Just doing my job, son. I hope you and curly over there work out.”

    Louis smiled, glancing over at Harry, who was peeking over the couch. But when he noticed he was caught, he quickly ducked. “Yeah,” Louis laughed, shaking his head fondly. “Me too.”

    And soon enough Eleanor and Steve were gone and left, Eleanor in tears by the time she left. Louis tried his best to ignore it, shutting the door behind the pair and walking over to Harry. He snuck up behind the couch, Harry still being ducked and laying down on the furniture in hiding. Louis smiled mischievously, jumping over the back of the couch and landing right on top of Harry.

    Harry groaned, laughing and wrapping his arms around Louis’ smaller frame. “Sneaky _and_ sassy.”

    “It runs in the genes.” Louis flipped his imaginary hair, hovering above Harry and brushing back some of the curls that fell in front of his face. Harry smiled, it slowly fading as he thought back to Eleanor and Steve’s very recent visit.

    Louis noticed the curved frown and concentrated face, asking, “What’s up, buttercup?”

    “Lou..” Harry started. “Did I.. ruin your marriage?”

    Bewilderment spread across his face, he shook his head quickly and leaned down to peck Harry’s lips. “Love, no. No no no.” He insisted.

    “You guys seemed decently alright before I came into the picture.” Harry frowned, piling all of the blame onto himself for the divorce.

    “Harry, look at me,” Louis spoke, even though Harry was already looking up at him with a guilty look. “I want this, okay? I want you. _You._ ”

    “Was that just a low-key way of asking me to be your boyfriend?” Harry cracked a smile, making Louis smile himself.

    “Maybe it was.”

    “I think I’m gonna have to accept that offer.” Harry couldn’t believe that they were being completely serious right now, Louis’ smile widening. “Thank god.” He breathed out a laugh, leaning down and connecting their lips for one of the many times to come in the future.


End file.
